Volleyball to Face No. 1 Texas, Baylor

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team hits the road for its final Big 12 Conference road matches of the season, as it will face No. 1 Texas on Thursday, Nov. 21, in Austin, Texas, then will travel to Waco, Texas, to play Baylor on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 1 p.m., ET.

The match against the Longhorns will get underway at 8 p.m., ET, and will be aired live on the Longhorn Network.

“We are excited to head to Texas this week to take on two very different quality opponents in Texas and Baylor,” says coach Jill Kramer. “I have been really happy with the level of competitiveness in our gym this week.”

“The team has been preparing with great focus and great purpose. Their level of effort and enthusiasm tells me they are looking forward to competing in our final Big 12 road swing this weekend.”

West Virginia has tied its most wins in a single season since 2004, and is just one win shy of recording its most single-season wins since 1991.

The Mountaineers (18-11, 4-9 Big 12) are fresh off a sweep of TCU on Saturday at the WVU Coliseum, marking their 10th sweep win of the season.

West Virginia fell to both the Longhorns (19-2, 12-0 Big 12) and Baylor (12-17, 4-9 Big 12) in straight sets in its first matchups with each school earlier in the season.

Texas, the defending Big 12 winners and national champions, has won 15 consecutive matches and is the top-ranked team in the AVCA Top 25 poll for the fifth-straight week.

The Longhorns can clinch their seventh Big 12 title this week if Kansas defeats Iowa State on Wednesday and Texas beats West Virginia on Thursday night.

“Texas is a great volleyball environment to compete in – great tradition and history there in volleyball,” Kramer says. “UT fans have a huge appreciation for the sport and it’s always nice to play in front of a crowd like that.”

Baylor has dropped four of its last five matches overall, and is currently tied with the Mountaineers for sixth place in the league.

“Baylor is starting a different setter than they did last time we played them, but that seems to be the only major change,” Kramer says. “Like us, they have quite a few young players on the court.”

WVU sophomore setter Brittany Sample surpassed 2,000 career kills against TCU this past weekend, and sophomore libero Anna Panagiotakopoulos recorded her 700th career dig against the Horned Frogs.

Freshman outside hitter Jordan Anderson continues to lead the Big 12 Conference in kills per set (3.98), ranking No. 43 nationally – fifth among all freshmen.

West Virginia is 0-3 all-time against the Longhorns and 0-6 all-time against Baylor. The Mountaineers will be looking for their first-ever win over a ranked opponent on Thursday.

West Virginia returns home to face Oklahoma in the conference finale on Wednesday, Nov. 27, at 6:30 p.m., at the WVU Coliseum. It will be senior night with the Mountaineers’ honoring the four senior members of the team.